Thursday, March 28, 2013

Walt Mink - Miss Happiness LP

After I got the recent Survival Knife 7", it prompted me to go back and listen to Unwound again. That got me thinking about my friend Pat from high school. Though I only speak to him once every couple of years these days, Pat has the distinction of being the only person from high school that I still speak to. Pat was my friend that listened to the punk & indie bands that most of my other friends didn't like (I say most of them, I'm just generalizing). Pat was the one that liked Unwound. Pat was the guy that got me into The Karl Hendricks Trio and another band I remember Pat liking was Walt Mink.

At the time, Walt Mink must not have done anything for me. Though I remember the name, I have no memory of what I thought of the band's music. I'm sure Pat must have played them for me, but I didn't care for it and then just moved on with my life. Since I've been re-listening to so many bands from the 90's that I missed out on the first go around, I figured it's time to give them a second shot.

This band is so quintessentially 90's. I almost don't know how else to describe it. The fuzzy treble heavy guitar riffs, tons of leads and solos, high pitched vocals that are borderline laid back and soothing at times. It's a pretty fun and dynamic record and I just can't imagine it being made at any other time. I haven't checked out any of their other records yet (No one wants to OD on Walt Mink), but I like this record more than enough to give the rest of their discography a try.